2012 Ram 2500HD 4WD - Clownin’

Built to Clown the Texas Show Scene

Everything is bigger in Texas. Trucks are everywhere and big lifted trucks are a dime a dozen. For Austin O’Krinksy, of Katy, Texas, big was just the starting point when he purchased his 2012 Ram HD. If the name Extreme Offroad sounds familiar, that’s because they’re responsible for the first 2014 Silverado cover truck that appeared three issues ago. Extreme is a family -- owned and -- operated business in Katy, Texas, and it’s also the shop responsible for this monstrous Ram HD. Wanting to take Extreme to the next level, Austin sought to build a lifted 4WD that would clown the rest of the Texas lifted truck scene. It was an ambitious goal, but it was also one that the entire team embraced.

Arriving at the shop with a bone-stock 2012 Ram 2500HD 4WD, Austin pulled the truck onto the two-post lift and the entire truck was disassembled. The frame was stripped of its undercoating and then prepped for several coats of gloss black paint. Next up, a 15-inch Full Throttle Suspension (FTS) lift kit was powdercoated in bright orange and promptly bolted onto the truck. Both axles were stripped down to bare metal, powdercoated in matching bright orange, and capped with Mag-Hytec diff covers. Dual black FTS 2.0 reservoir shocks were added to the front and rear axles for proper road damping. At this stage, the Ram was sky-high but rolling on stock 31-inch tires. Black two-piece Fuel Off-Road Drill wheels were chosen for their aggressive and bold looks and wrapped in huge 40-inch Toyo tires. A black truck with black wheels is nothing new, but for this project the black hoops would serve as the backdrop for intricate airbrushing. Each wheel received different designs of clowns, skulls, realistic flames, and even pig-tail-clad girls. Airbrush credit goes to David Kinsey, of Coachwerks by Kinsey, in Santa Fe, Texas. His ability would also play a prominent role in the Ram’s over-the-top paintjob.

Black is an imposing color for a big truck, but a solid color can only garner so many show points, and Austin’s goal was to take home Best of Show awards at every event he went to. Helping make this a reality, Coachwerks by Kinsey absolutely went off on the Mega Cab canvas and airbrushed realistic fire, checkered flags, skulls, clowns, girls, and plenty of mischievous images all over the Ram. The bright orange paint really offsets the sea of black and perfectly complements the orange suspension, wheels, and LED lighting from Plain and Simple by Design. Other body mods include front and rear Fab Fours bumpers, RBP grille, and Recon LED taillights. Such a big and bad truck needed extra power to back up that image. The 6.7L Cummins turbodiesel makes plenty of ponies thanks to an H&S Mini Maxx tuner, intake manifold, and boost tube, as well as an aFe intake, Flo-Pro exhaust, and 4.56 gears from G2 Axle.

Not a one-trick pony, Austin’s interior was also heavily upgraded with black and orange perforated leather covering the heated and cooled seats, while black suede was used to wrap the pillars and headliner. A recent business venture, Extreme also handles hydro-dipping in-house thanks to Austin’s brother, Jordan. He expertly coated the dash’s center stack, center console, and fake wood grain door inserts in Orange Hades Skulls. Looks aside, the interior is a rolling SPL contest as the Mega Cab area was stuffed with four Rockford Fosgate 12-inch T2 subwoofers. The massive enclosure also serves as the mounting location for three Rockford Fosgate Power Series amps. Once the fitment was handled on the fiberglass sub box, it was coated in vibrant orange to break up the dark grey interior. A JVC navigation head unit sends audio signals to Rockford Fosgate components in each door and video signals to 7-inch Myron and Davis headrest monitors.

Never satisfied, Austin seems to be enjoying this insane build -- for now. So what’s next for a guy who has already built a Chevy, Dodge, and Ford? That info is top secret, but whatever it is, we’re confident he won’t settle for status quo.